


This Was Never My Plan (But It's Definitely Better)

by its_not_my_fault



Series: A Grimm's Fate [2]
Category: Grimm (TV)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, F/M, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Fluff, Fluff without Plot, Kid Fic, No Plot/Plotless, Schmoop, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, it's so fluffy I'm gonna die, y'all I am not kidding there is no plot only fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-15
Updated: 2020-06-15
Packaged: 2021-03-04 07:08:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,360
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24739783
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/its_not_my_fault/pseuds/its_not_my_fault
Summary: Adalind's best dreams were never this good.
Relationships: Nick Burkhardt/Adalind Schade
Series: A Grimm's Fate [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1788886
Comments: 10
Kudos: 75





	This Was Never My Plan (But It's Definitely Better)

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to Reb for the help with editing and the title. It's mostly legible now ;)

Adalind stared at the paperwork in front of her and realized she hadn’t actually read the last two paragraphs. She rubbed her eyes and decided to have a quick breather; after all, lawyers excelled at burying important clauses in seemingly harmless paragraphs. Missing those “little” phrases was the kind of thing that got your client in trouble, and you fired, and she didn’t want that--even if she was looking at other jobs. She was hoping to find a place that didn’t want to use her as a Hexenbiest. She would really like to work somewhere that didn’t even know she was one, but that seemed unlikely. There were too many connected Wesen in law firms.

Adalind must have sighed because Nick looked up from the book he’d been studying. “Are you okay?” he asked, and the look of concern on his face made her feel… Well, the best word she could think of was “gooey.” 

“I am perfect,” she answered him, and she wasn’t exaggerating. For so many years of her life, she had wondered why people spoke of “melting inside,” and now here she was feeling like a chocolate morsel in a warm oven because Nick was asking her if she was okay. She almost laughed at herself for being so sentimental, but she was finally happy. She was done punishing herself for feeling. The ugly voice in her mind that whispered terrible things, and pushed at her to hurt people, hurt anyone had finally died. She remembered Juliette telling Nick that she was in Hell, and it was time for Adalind to join her there. What Juliette didn’t seem to understand, what no one had ever understood was that Adalind had been in Hell her whole life… until Nick. Somehow, he’d freed her, or maybe he had given her the ability and the reason she needed to free herself. 

She briefly thought of how horrified her mother would be that Adalind was happy and that she had killed the power-hungry, cruel voice in her head. Happiness had felt so strange, so foreign, so frightening the first time she had felt it. Such emotions got in the way of power, and there was nothing more important than increasing the power she held to a Hexenbiest. The only acceptable feelings were rage and pride, and even those would hamper a Hexenbiest’s ability to access her full potential. Adalind’s mother had frequently extolled the virtues of strength and detachment. She had wanted Adalind to bring their family name to new heights. It was Catherine’s goal to see Adalind become a legacy of power. When Adalind had failed, Catherine had disowned her. So it wasn’t like she missed her mom, but sometimes Adalind did get nostalgic for the idea of a mother who loved her. Every time she felt that way, Adalind vowed her children would know she loved them with every fiber of her being, something she hadn’t thought possible when her mother raised her. She still struggled with her emotions. Sometimes it felt like her body wouldn’t physically be able to contain them, and she might burst at any moment from the intensity of them. She glanced at her children who were right now enjoying playing with each other, alive and safe. After everything that happened, it was hard to believe that their family was intact. She had Nick to thank for all of it, or at least almost everything. 

“I think we can all agree that Black Claw sucked and that the only reason they aren’t the worst thing you ever faced was that you had to go up against Satan,” Adalind mused aloud. She was working on making peace with the fact that she was one of the terrible things he had faced—she couldn’t and shouldn’t forget who she had been, but if Nick had forgiven her, then maybe she could too. “So I’m not saying they weren’t completely terrible, but they did do me one huge favor,” Adalind told him. Nick raised one eyebrow and smirked at her. It was his way of asking her what she meant without actually saying anything. She’d seen him give it to others, but never with exasperated affection he had when he gave it to her. She loved that expression on him. It made her want to laugh, and she was only a little bit surprised to find that she was enjoying herself. A grin tugged at her lips, and she knew she was failing to keep her face neutral.

She wanted to hold out on answering his silent question, but he was a pro at interrogation and she couldn’t deny him anything he wanted. He was still staring at her with that raised eyebrow and waiting, so Adalind relented, “Diana’s paperwork. They put her birth certificate and social security and everything in order. I don’t know how I would’ve ever gotten it all done and sorted, but they wanted everything with Sean to look perfect, and above board, so they used their contacts to fix everything.” She paused for a moment thinking back to these days. “Sometimes I wish I could bring Bonaparte back from the dead just so that I could thank him for bringing Diana back to me and then kill him again, but more slowly this time so that he would really suffer. I’d like him to feel the pain that he promised my children would feel if I took off that stupid engagement ring.” 

Adalind studied her bare ring finger and shuddered as something cold zipped down her spine. She’d never gone into detail, and she didn’t intend to now either. She wasn’t sure she could find the words to explain what happened anyway. The part when she’d felt like she had turned to stone was incredibly challenging to describe, and she didn’t like to think about it if she could help it. 

“I guess that was sort of helpful of them.” Nick’s smile was small, but his eyes glowed with warmth. Adalind lived in that glow. Seeing his warmth directed at her was like seeing a sunrise for the first time. “And they did get Diana back to you. Though I would have done any and all paperwork if it had meant not losing you and Kelly.” 

“I know I’ve said this before, but I would never have- “Adalind started, but Nick didn’t let her finish. He reached across the table and took her hand. 

“I don’t say that to make you feel guilty. I say that because I want you to know that there isn’t anything I wouldn’t do or give to keep Diana, Kelly, and you with me. Including paperwork, which I despise and pass off to newbies and interns whenever possible. But I would fill out a thousand pages of paperwork in triplicate if I needed to because I love our family. I love us. I love you.” It wasn’t the first time he had said the words “I love you,” but it still seemed like a dream. And here he was saying those words with conviction and ease like he was telling her the sky was blue and the sun was bright. She still wasn’t used to hearing him say those words. It seemed cliche to say that it felt like she’d won the lottery without buying a ticket, but she didn’t know how else to describe the whirlwind of disbelief, awe, excitement, and joy swirling in her. 

“I love you, too. There is no one in the world luckier than me.” Adalind would never be able to say that enough. 

Nick smiled and squeezed her hand. “There is no one in the world luckier than us.” 

“Are you two done being weird? Kelly’s getting hungry,” Diana interrupted from the floor. 

Adalind chuckled. She squeezed Nick’s hand back once and then turned to her daughter. “So Kelly is hungry, huh? How do you know that?” 

Adalind smiled. “His tummy is making that noise,” Diana told her cheerfully, and then Adalind really had to laugh. Nick’s phone ringing slightly diminished her cheerful mood. They had seen so little of him since he’d gone back to work. That was the nature of his job sometimes, but she still felt the pain and fear of almost losing him to the other place. 

“Hey, Hank. Please don’t tell me we’ve got a body,” Nick sighed, and he did not sound at all hopeful that he would get so lucky. Adalind got up and made her way around to the stove, where she started working on something for Kelly and Diana. No one, not even Sean, Nick, or Adalind, could tell how much Diana could truly sense Kelly’s moods and needs, but Diana was incredibly perceptive about so much that they had all decided it was best to listen to her for now. 

Adalind could hear that Hank replied, but she couldn’t make out what he said. 

“Crap,” Nick answered, rubbing his face. Adalind thought she could hear Hank laughing, but she wasn’t sure. Surely Hank wouldn’t be laughing if there was a body. 

“You didn’t get called in, did you?” Adalind asked. Nick shook his head no, and she heard Hank speak again, but she still couldn’t understand what was said. 

Nick winced, “Can I meet you there?” Adalind thought Hank might’ve answered in the affirmative, but it was hard to say. However Hank answered, Nick seemed to accept it easily. “Okay, see you in a few.” 

Nick hung up the phone and sighed again. “I don’t have to go to work. There was just an appointment I had today, and Hank said he would go with me as a sounding board. I’m thinking of getting a new trailer since Rosalee and Monroe are thinking of making some changes to the shop and their house now that they’ve got triplets on the way. Would you mind if I went ahead and took it? It’ll just be a couple of hours. I promise.” 

Adalind smiled at him and pushed back the disappointment that he would be leaving them again so soon after they’d seen so little of him the last few days. This was how things would sometimes be, maybe even often, and that was okay. That was more than okay because Nick was the best person she’d ever met, and she wouldn’t change him. If loving him meant sharing him with the world; well, then that’s what she would do. “Of course not. Is there anything I can do to help?” 

The soft affection in Nick’s smile was making her gooey again. “You’re already doing it. Do you need any help with the kids before I go?” 

“I can take care of myself,” Diana protested from where she and Kelly were now building a block castle. Kelly was mostly just trying to chew the blocks, but Diana was infinitely patient with pulling the blocks from him and getting rid of the baby drool. “And I can help with Kelly if Mommy needs me to,” she added after a moment. 

Nick bent down to the floor with Diana and Kelly. He gave each of them a kiss on the forehead, but to Diana, he said, “We want you to get to be a kid even if you are already so grown up.” 

“That seems a bit silly. But, okay, I guess.” Her expression was dubious, and her tone was just this side of condescending. Adalind could tell that Diana’s response made Nick want to laugh, but he managed to hold it together. Adalind wanted to find the humor Nick had, but her child growing and maturing so fast was something that had Adalind worried. She’d missed so much of the beginning of Diana’s life, and she’d been aging at an accelerated pace, and it scared Adalind what that might mean long term. 

“Adults are kind of silly, aren’t we?” Nick asked in response to Diana, breaking Adalind out of her anxious thoughts. 

“Uh-huh, but I like you anyway. Kelly does, too.” 

“You like me? Well,” Nick paused before continuing with dramatic flair and silliness that Adalind couldn’t believe she was so lucky to witness, “I guess I will just have to live with the fact that I love you, but you only like me back!” Nick added fake sniffles, and Kelly erupted into laughter, and even Diana seemed to giggle a little. Her daughter laughed so little. Diana smiled often enough and seemed happy enough in her own strange way, but she didn’t laugh. Nick stood, swooped Diana up, and swung her around before setting her back down and doing the same to Kelly. The three of them were laughing, and Adalind felt all the air in her lungs whoosh out, and she couldn’t get air back in. She needed to breathe dammit, but her lungs weren’t responding to her plea. She dropped the knife she’d been holding on the cutting board. She watched Nick kiss the foreheads of both children again before rising and walking to her. 

He hadn’t picked up on her distress yet because his eyes were still full of mirth, his smile felt like lightning, and she was entranced. So taken was she with his face, that she didn’t even see that he was reaching for her. She only registered his touch when his palms slid against her jaw, and his thumbs brushed her cheeks. He pulled her into a fierce kiss that seemed to finally force her lungs to react. She gasped in air, and he took that as an invitation to deepen the kiss. Adalind was profoundly glad she’d already dropped the knife because she noticed belatedly that her hands clutched his waist. After a few seconds, he pulled back and rested his forehead against hers so their noses were touching. 

“I love you,” he murmured softly, just for her. He pressed one more light kiss to her lips before moving to the elevator. Just before he closed the gate to head out, he smiled and repeated, “I will be back soon. I promise.” 

“Okay,” Adalind responded and smiled. Yeah, she could share her knight with a shining badge with the world in exchange for moments like these.


End file.
